Native place Names
The city of Juneau is fortunate to have retained some of its Tlingit place names, and, in certain cases, to have revived others. Newcomers soon master the pronunciation of "Dzantik'i Heeni" or "Kowee" and come to relish each syllable as proof they're not just passing through, but settling in.

Paramedics save lives
I support the idea of hiring paramedics or firefighters medic I personnel that are working for Capital City Fire & Rescue as paramedics. I think the chief needs to get his figures right.

Tax milk, not booze
I would like to respond to Brianna Gunderson's letter posted on Feb. 28. She is supporting an additional tax on alcohol with the justification that "alcohol is a luxury."

Violent photo
This morning I found myself reeling at the picture on the front page depicting a man with a gun to another's head.

Photo: Read all about it
Rep. Jeannette James, R-North Pole, left, Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, center, and Rep. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, listen to Eve Dillingham read Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hatches the Egg" on Friday Night at Mendenhall River Elementary School. The legislators were there to read to children during the Read Across America event - held nationwide on Dr. Seuss' birthday anniversary to encourage children to read.

Photo: All hands on deck
Chris Herrick, 6, enjoys the view Saturday from the bow of one of the many boats on display at this year's boat show at Centennial Hall. The show continues today.

4-H Nordic Ski Club gets families on the trail
When Cathy Botelho's daughter Auri started cross-country skiing, she had to hold her mother's hand while traveling the fairly level Mendenhall Campground Trail. But like other members of Juneau's 4-H Nordic Ski Club, she's built confidence and now skis independently on harder trails, such as Eaglecrest's Lower Loop.

Police and Fire
Reports from Juneau police, fire officials and state troopers.

Kappler elected JCVB president
Lorene Kappler has been named president and chief executive officer of the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau. Kappler brings 18 years of visitor industry operations and marketing experience to her new position.

Man pleads guilty to harassment
A man accused last fall of exposing and fondling himself in the front window of his home pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor harassment charge.

Curious students compete in science fair
About 114 students competed in the privately sponsored fair at the Marie Drake gym. Nearly all of them were Juneau-Douglas High School freshmen and sophomores enrolled in advanced physical science or biology classes taught by Jonathan Smith.

Photo: Tanner season
Haida Chief deckhand Amanda Painter, left, and owner Kurtis Klose hose off the deck of the 86-foot wooden tender after unloading their Tanner crab catch and hauling out crab pots earlier in February at Auke Bay.

Free-range jungle chickens demonstrate pluck
One thing an alert vacationer will notice in Belize, Central America, is that there are no alarm clocks. In the large cities, all one of them, people are up and active at dawn to get the children ready for school and get to the bus stops to go to work. Farmers have already rattled into town in bad trucks with the day's produce. Sleeping in is difficult.

Empire reporter deserving of recognition
The members of the Juneau Education Association want to take this opportunity to thank Juneau Empire staff writer Eric Fry for his excellent journalism while covering the education beat.

Word of Mouth
A forum for readers to express opinions on a variety of issues by telephone.

Hidden costs of closing fiscal gap
The monumental challenge of balancing Alaska's checkbook without dipping into the state's savings account is moving forward or being stalled depending upon who you talk to.

Local skiers qualify for Junior Olympics
After another successful showing at the final week of the Alyeska Cup, 14 racers from the Juneau Ski Club qualified for the Junior Olympic Western Regionals and seven qualified for the Arctic Winter Games.

Fiedler's Juneau advantage
As the sled dog teams line up in Wasilla for today's restart of the Iditirod Trail Sled Dog Race, the more than 1,000 dogs hitched up to the teams will each have thousands of miles of training just from this winter alone.

Gruening breaks records in WCC women's tournament
Santa Clara University senior guard Caroline Gruening of Juneau broke two West Coast Conference tournament records and tied two others Friday night to lead the Broncos to an 87-84 victory over St. Mary's in the WCC semifinals in San Diego.

Kivalina residents sound off on school closure
Some 200 parents, elders and students packed the McQueen School gym in Kivalina for a community meeting Friday, two days after the Northwest Arctic Borough School District abruptly shut down classes, citing "threatening and assaultive behavior" against teachers.

Petersburg needs new hearse
"It's an embarrassment," said City Council member Paul Anderson of the city's hearse. Motor pool personnel have had to respond at several funerals to get the hearse running, he added.